Pirate Smile
by happylandfill
Summary: More 'adventures' with Patch & Nora after Hush, Hush. Rated T for now for epic sexy bits & explicit language.
1. Motel, baby

**songfic! credit to all time low for the first two lines (poison - all time low)**

**

* * *

**

_You drank the poison and I, I let you in_

_Would you trade that heart of gold for a minute in my skin?_

"Your fault, really," Patch said, smiling that gorgeous pirate smile.

"And how is it my fault, exactly?" I asked. I couldn't help but smile back.

"You drank the poison. I let you. Don't play with fire unless you expect to get burnt, Angel,"

We were in the hallway in my house, and no one else was in. My mom was on another business trip thing, down in New York, so I was home all alone – besides from Dorothea and Patch, who was round most of the time. We were arguing playfully again.

"Patch, you're really not good for me." I replied, shaking my head theatrically.

"I know, but you can't get enough of me." He winked at me, and grinned.

I grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled him closer. "I know I can't," I whispered into his ear.

He slid a hand under my shirt, pressing it to the small of my back, arching me into him. His other hand went up to my jaw line, and tilted my head up. He softly pressed his lips to mine, just once, but that was enough to tempt me. I stood on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around his neck, and went in for a full on kiss. I did all but stop myself from moaning as his tongue touched mine, exploring my mouth.

He broke the kiss suddenly. "We have a visitor," he said, looking over my shoulder, grinning, his hands still at my jaw and back.

"Nora Grey!" Vee was at the door, shaking her head.

"How did you get in?"

"I'm not sure actually, I guess the door kind of opened,"

_No doubt your doing, Patch? _I thought to myself, knowing he'd be able to hear it.

He looked back down at me and half smiled.

_It seems I can never impress you anymore, Angel._

I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him.

_You never need to impress me. You had me at hello._

He broke the kiss again, and looked deep into my eyes, searching for emotion.

_I don't think I've ever said hello to you, actually._

I playfully pushed him away and turned to Vee.

"Am I missing something?" She asked, glancing between the two of us.

"Nope," I said, smiling faintly. I felt bad, always leaving her in the dark.

"Right, well. Let's break this joint and get to where the party's at!" She signalled for me to follow her.

"Wait, hang on, where are we going? I might need to lea-"

"Come on Nora, you're no fun," Patch said, grabbing me by the arm and dragging me out of the door before I could protest. I mumbled to myself on the way to the Jeep. Vee got shotgun, leaving me in the back and Patch driving. This was uncomfortable.

We were on our way to a party in Portland – this time, without Elliot or Jules. It was bucketing it down with rain by the time we hit the highway, and Patch could barely see out the windshield. I was drifting off to sleep in the back.

* * *

I didn't know how long it had been, but I woke up with a jolt. A familiar presence was nearby, and I had the cold feeling in my spine like I always did when Patch was around. Someone grabbed me by the hand, and yelled,

"NORA! GET THE FUCK UP!"

"Wha-"

"FINALLY!" Vee was leaning over my left side, with my hand in hers.

Patch was on the other side, leaning in through the car door.

"Good morning, Angel." He said, pirate smiling.

"Morning? What? I slept that long? It's still dark outside?"

"He's just kidding, Nora. You were out for about twenty minutes, we didn't notice until we parked the car up here,"

"Where exactly is 'here'?"

"Well, that jackass over there crashed his fancy Jeep, so now we're stuck in the parking lot of some 60's diner and motel." She said, looking accusingly at Patch, who looked innocent as an angel. Ha, an angel.

"What? You were the one shoving the freakin' map in my face! How was I meant to see the road sign?"

Vee looked away from him, and sighed. "Where did you find this one? Pick of the bunch, really, Nora."

"Stop arguing..." I muttered, still sleepy. "I guess we're not partying tonight then?"

"No," Patch said, a grin creeping onto his face. "But fortunately for us, there's a motel nearby." He rose one of his eyebrows.

"Ewww!" Vee squealed. "I don't wanna know the story! Tonight, I'm the responsible adult for you guys," She shook her head.

"Come on," Patch said, glancing at Vee, then looking back at me and smiling softly. He put one arm under my knees, and another around my waist, and lifted me out of the car. Vee backed out the other side, and slammed the car door shut with her butt.

"I can walk myself, you know," I said, glaring at Patch.

"Nah, it's more fun carrying you." He laughed. "I know it annoys you when I do stuff for you," He lowered his voice to a rough whisper. "But that's why I'm your guardian angel, Angel,"

I looked over at Vee to make sure she didn't hear. She wouldn't have taken it seriously anyway.

I don't know why Patch doesn't trust Vee – who's she got to tell, besides me? Patch trusts me, I trust Patch (to some extent). I trust Vee, Vee trusts me. Patch might not trust Vee, but he trusts me, and if I trust Vee, then it's all good, really, isn't it? She would easily betray Patch's trust, but because it involves me, she wouldn't dare tell anyone.

_Maybe if I got to know her more, I mightt let you tell her. For now though, just forget about it._

We'd reached the reception of the motel by now, and Patch set me on the ground and reached into his back pocket for his wallet.

"Crap, I've left my wallet in the car. I'll be right back," He pecked me on the cheek and sped off back to the car.

Vee sidled over to me, her hands in her overcoat pockets.

"So what went on when we were crossing the parking lot?" She raised an eyebrow.

"We talked." She must have seen me stiffen, because she pried.

"About what? Me? I can tell you're hiding something, Nora."

"I'm not hiding anything; I tell you everything, Vee! I would have told you by now, you know I'm no good at other peoples' secrets." I tried to look innocent and offended, but I knew she saw right through me. Patch came bounding up to us, shaking the rain from his hair like a wet dog.

"Ready?" He asked, smiling. Vee and I both nodded at the same time. I guessed he probably heard what was going on because I was thinking about it so much.

We walked into the motel entrance, and shuffled our feet across the mat in front of the door.

"Hallo there!" The guy behind the counter said, taking his headphones off. He sounded pretty happy. And English.

"Three of us, please. One double, one single." Patch gave the guy a winning smile.

"Hey!" I began to protest, but Vee kicked me in the shins. I winced, and the guy behind the counter gave me a funny look.

The motel guy and Patch sussed out the prices, and Vee and I wandered off into our own conversation until he was done.

"C'mon," he said, and walked off down the corridor to the right.

"I don't like motels." I heard a scream of ecstasy from a passing room. "I definitely do _not_ like motels."

Our room was right at the end of the corridor, away from the screaming. I can see why the guy at the desk had headphones on.

I shuddered as Patch unlocked the door, and he mistook it for a shiver.

"Cold, Angel?"

"No." I said.

_Don't act like you didn't hear that scream back down there._

He laughed.

_Afraid that's what you're gonna be doing later on?_

I glared at him.

_Hardly, Patch._

He flashed me the sexiest grin he could muster.

_You never know, Nora._


	2. Ghost Stories

**holy crow guys, this is a long chapter! I hope I don't bore you with it - I wrote it all when I was ill. reviews pl0x? maybe some favorites? story alerts? ;)**

* * *

I have to say, the room was hardly the nicest I've ever stayed in. I dumped my handbag on the bed next to Patch's 'emergency' backpack (consisting of a pair of sweats, clean underwear, deodorant, a toothbrush, toothpaste and a t shirt) and looked around.

There was damp crawling up the once-pink-and-grey walls, and the storm outside had caused the rain to leak through a hole in the ceiling – luckily not on any of the beds, just in the corner by the window.

I call it a window, but it was pretty much opaque from the grime coating someone had generously painted over it.

The beds had dust covers over them, thank God, but they weren't much better underneath. I sighed and checked the bathroom. I flipped the light on, and a moth fluttered around overhead.

"_Ewwww!_ Patch!" I squealed.

He came swinging round the corner. "Yeah?" I pointed at the light. The moth was at least the size of my thumb. "Oh don't be so pathetic," He said, and walked back into the main room. He came back a few seconds later with a magazine, and swatted it down. He showed me the splattered bug. "See? No worries. Hakuna Matata." I glared at him.

The bathroom was just as bad as the main room – the shower had a constant dripping problem, and the toilet seat had a slight yellow tinge to it. The corners of the sink were green.

"Nice place, really." I heard a sarcastic Vee say to Patch.

"It's not like I chose to crash the car here," I walked into the room interrupt their arguing.

"Patch, you stink of rain and wet dog, get in the shower," I said, playfully pushing him away. "Vee – shut up!" I laughed as she gave me side-evils, and Patch padded off to the bathroom.

Unfortunately enough, I'd not exactly prepared to be stranded in a motel, so I hadn't packed pajamas, a toothbrush, and deodorant – only a little bottle of perfume, some makeup and an oversized fleece jacket I'd stolen from Patch's Jeep. My party dress was soaked.

I guess I'd be sleeping in my underwear and the fleece, then. It was slowly becoming more and more like my last motel stay.

Patch walked out of the bathroom in just a pair of grey sweatpants, with a towel wrapped round his head. The muscles on his torso flexed as he walked. He was flawless without the scars on his back anymore.

"You're shameless, aren't you?" Vee said the moment he walked into the room.

"If you got 'em, flaunt 'em." He replied, smiling fiendishly, rubbing his hair dry with the towel, then dumping it on the floor.

I walked over, picked the towel up and threw it back into the bathroom. I turned around and walked straight into Patch. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. I could smell whatever soap he'd used on his skin in the shower mixing with his earthy scent as he lowered his head and lifted mine up, pressing his lips to mine.

"I love you, Nora," He whispered, running a hand through my hair.

"I-I love you too, Patch," This had taken me unawares; he doesn't normally say stuff like that. It was sweet, yeah, and it made him like ten times hotter, but it was still weird.

"Nora?" He asked.

"Yeah?" I gulped unusually loudly.

"If Vee weren't here-"

"Hey Nora!" Vee shouted as if she wasn't in the same room as me, and beckoned for me to go over. I gave Patch a sympathetic, kind of 'help me' look, and went over to Vee and sat on the edge of the bed she was due to spend the night on. Patch sat behind me and slipped his arms around my waist, resting his head on my shoulder.

"Jeez, Nora, you would have seen the hand signals I was making to you if you weren't getting all frisky with Patch," She glanced at him accusingly, and Patch looked at me with mock incredulousness. "I was actually going to ask you to kick Patch out for a few minutes while I get changed,"

"Can't I just stand in the bathroom?"

"No. Me _and_ Nora need to get changed-"

"In that case, I'll stay right here."

Vee continued as if Patch said nothing. "So you can go sit in your Jeep for a bit or something, okay Italiano boy?" I lifted my hand up and rested it on his cheek. He groaned, and got up.

"Call me when you want me back, Angel," he kissed the top of my head, and paused on his way out. "And how do you know I'm Italian?" He called back to Vee, but left before she had the chance to answer.

"He's Italian?" I asked her.

"I don't know! His complexion is quite Italian. Maybe Spanish – I don't know," I laughed.

"So did you actually kick him out so we could get changed or just to give you the chance to bitch about him?" I said, grinning. I saw her master plan.

"Both, actually," she said, a cheeky grin appearing on her face. "So how far have you gone with him?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, Vee, if I did anything with him I'd tell you, really," I said, getting up and going to the bathroom to get changed – no, to strip down and put the fleece on and make an attempt at brushing my teeth with Patch's toothbrush and toothpaste. He carried some weird things with him to be honest. I think he got himself prepped up after last time...

"Nora?" I looked behind me, and Vee was standing in the doorframe, looking royally pissed. "You weren't listening to anything I said, were you? I wish you'd stop zoning out like that," She huffed, but then grinned. "But I can go over it,"

"Ugh, pleash dun't" I slurped through the toothpaste, spraying it all over Vee. I turned back over the sink and spat it out, laughing at the same time.

"This is not funny, Nora Grey!" She said, trying to wipe toothpaste off her shirt with some toilet roll, but only succeeded in leaving little pieces of ripped-up toilet roll on her black top. Vee's temperament changed so quickly.

"Oh really?" I grinned. "No, what were you going to say?" I invited her to speak, knowing she would say it doesn't matter.

"Doesn't matter now." See? I laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Doesn't matter now." I mimicked her tone. She huffed, and walked out. I shut the door, and proceeded to get changed.

"Patch is really into you, you know, I think he's considering getting serious with you," Vee said through the bathroom door. "Maybe you should give it a go?" I ignored her, trying not to think about it in case he was listening to my head again. "Nora? Are you ignoring me again? Have you flushed yourself down the toilet? Drowned in the sink? I've heard you can drown in just an inch of wa-"

I walked out of the bathroom and stared at her sarcastically. "Sorry." She said, looking away. I giggled, and sat on the edge of the bed. The double bed... that me and Patch were going to share. I shuddered at the thought of what he'd said before.

"People should stop being so cryptic with me," I said.

"What does that mean?" Vee asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Like, hidden meanings in what they say, or like, not really hidden, just... stuff I don't click onto that they do. It's annoying," Vee murmured an agreement, but I knew she didn't understand what I was talking about.

"Is it Patch?" She asked, curiosity lilting her voice.

"Well, yeah. You know the screaming we heard on the way down here?" I just thought – what if he just planted the screaming woman in my mind? Argh.

"Yeah?"

"Well," I was thinking of a way to phrase what he said – without mentioning how he _thought _it to me. "I shuddered about it, and he asked me if I was cold. I said, no, and asked him if he'd heard that scream down the corridor. He said 'afraid that's what you're gonna be doing later on?' and I said 'hardly, Patch' and he said..."

"Yesssss?" Vee said, looking eager.

"He like, grinned, and said 'you never know, Nora'" I looked away, embarrassed.

Vee laughed, louder than usual. "He totally wants to do you, Nora!" She practically yelled it.

"Vee! Keep it down!"

"You know it's true." She said, and I couldn't help but admit it.

I wished I could tell her who he was, what he was – everything. It doesn't feel at all right just leaving her in the dark...

"Vee-"

_Don't, Angel._

I forgot Patch was pretty much ever-present in my mind.

_Patch, it's not fair. I don't like hiding this, especially from my best friend._

Vee looked confused, and invited me to carry on talking.

_And it's not fair on me if you were to tell her._

Vee shook me by the shoulders.

"Huh?"

"Ugh, I wish you'd stop doing that."

"What?" I panicked, thinking she meant the mind-talking stuff.

"Zoning out," she replied, looking weirded out at me getting all panicky. The door creaked open. "Oh look," She said with distaste. "It's lover-boy Italiano."

"I do wish you'd stop assuming I'm Italian, Vee." He smiled half-heartedly.

"It's a habit." She said, grinning falsely. He returned the fake smile, and sat next to me. He gave me an elevator look.

"Feeling nude tonight, Nora?" He tried to keep a straight face, but his amusement was given away by his eyes.

"I'm sorry I didn't bring pajamas to a _party._ In _Portland. _Sorry I didn't come kitted out for all unknown-circumstances." I replied sarcastically. He gave me his pirate smile, and wrapped an arm around my waist. I rested my head on his shoulder.

"You guys make me feel so left out," Vee said, coming to join us on the double bed. "Anyone bring any nail polish?"

"Yeah, just let me get some out of my bag," Patch replied, looking at her like she was stupid.

"Sorry that I like to have something to do when I'm stuck out in a storm. There isn't a TV in here! Or even a radio! And there's no signal on my cell phone or anything – and even if I were to text someone, it would be Nora. Or my mom, but I'm not that desperate."

"Maybe we could turn the lights off-"

"That'd be nice for you and Patch," Vee butted in.

I carried on, regardless of what she'd said. "And tell ghost stories?"

"How old are you like, seven?" Patch laughed.

"Can you think of something better to do?" I shot back at him.

_Oh, I could name a few things. _

Patch winked.

"Well, I reckon it's a good idea. Don't start getting up to funny business though, just because the lights are off," Vee warned. "Anybody got a flashlight?" She glanced at Patch, who opened his mouth to speak. "No sarcastic remarks, thanks, I'll just take that as a no."

I laughed, and looked at Patch, who jerked a thumb backwards.

_Bed?_

He asked playfully in my mind. I guess I didn't have many other options, unless I wanted to sleep on the floor.

Vee got up to turn the lights off, and I scrambled backwards to get under the covers. Patch joined me a few seconds later. I propped the pillow up vertically, and sat back. Patch shuffled closer to me, and slipped his arms under the sheets and wrapped them both around my waist. The lights went out.

_Let your imagination run wild, Angel._


	3. Unexpected Arrivals

**Sorry, like, no updates since like Monday or whatever. I've been insanely busy - with it being close to Christmas and all. I've been getting like hundreds of people putting this on their favourites and story alert subscriptions and stuff though, so thankyou :DD I'm pretty much all out of ideas from now on though, so I need you guys (whoever is reading this junk) to give me some ideas D:**

**Happy Christmas, btw, and on Christmas Eve daytime thingymajig stuff, I'll be playing Fiesta all day - and writing loads of fanfiction, so if you give me ideas you'll get like 4 new chapters in one day :DD**

**

* * *

**

I woke up the next morning feeling like crap. My head had been at a funny angle all night, and I didn't want to move in case I woke half-naked Patch up.

Fortunately; nothing rude happened with me and Patch, despite Vee's assumptions. We kissed, yeah, and we fell asleep on each other, but nothing else. Patch fell asleep first – at about 2:30am, and Vee and I stayed up talking & telling ghost stories until about 3am. By that time, the storm had passed over.

Unfortunately; we still had no way of getting back to Coldwater. Patch's Jeep was still wrapped around a road sign, and we were miles from home. Vee's cell phone was out of range, mine was dead, and so was Patch's. I guess we could go ask the motel guy if we could use his phone, but I'm not moving anywhere. It's freezing.

"Vee!" I whispered hoarsely. I needed a drink. I didn't want to wake Patch. It was cold. I had no one to talk to. I was seriously uncomfortable. I was in a bit of a predicament. "VEE!" I virtually yelled.

She mumbled, and shuffled around under her sheets. Patch twitched violently next to me, and I burst out laughing, which woke him up.

"What's the joke?" He asked, looking amused, but at the same time confused. I carried on laughing. "No, really, what have I missed? How long have I been out?" I was laughing uncontrollably, and I had to wipe a tear from my eye.

"You... just twitched... in your sleep, like this," I did a crazy impression of him. He just stared at me. I started laughing. He groaned, and turned over to put his back to me and go back to sleep. "Paaaatch," I croaked/whispered, sliding my arm around his waist and stroking a hand across his chest. He mumbled something about going away, so I sighed and got out of bed.

The cold hit me like a punch in the face.

"Norawhatyoudoin'?" Vee slurred. I pointed a finger at my mouth.

"Water," I croaked, and walked into the bathroom to pour a glass of water. I leant back against the grimy sink and glugged it down, breathing a sigh of relief. Vee wandered in, slapping her face to wake herself up.

"That, I have to say, was not the best night of my life." She yawned, and tied her hair up in a loose bun at the nape of her neck.

I heard a thud from the other room, and went to go check it out. Patch had rolled pretty much straight off the bed – but his head was still on the pillow. I went over and tried to lift him back onto the bed, but he was too heavy. He woke up and looked at me, bleary eyed.

"I didn't even know you slept, Patch," I said to him, smiling.

"I never said I didn't," He tried to sound dignified despite his current position – half on the floor. I giggled.

"Come on, get up," I offered him my hand, but he didn't take it. He heaved himself back up off the floor and collapsed onto the bed – taking me with him. I was directly on top of him – but I rolled off him and onto my side, and faced him. He grinned, and lifted his hand to my cheek, pulling me closer to him. He roughly kissed me, then pulled back and looked me straight in the eye, tilting his head thoughtfully.

"I've never understood half of the stuff that goes on in your head," He said quietly, almost a whisper.

"It doesn't need to make sense to you," I replied, resting a hand on his jaw and stroking his cheek with my thumb. "So long as you understand that I love you." He smiled, and kissed my forehead. We lay in silence for a while, and I took in every detail of his face. He was asleep, so he didn't notice I was avidly staring at him, but I bet he could sense it. I watched how his jaw tensed and relaxed as he breathed, how his eyelids fluttered in his sleep, how his eyebrows furrowed in his dream world, how his breathing was slow and soothing...

"Come on, Nora, you're up next."

I looked up from Patch. "What?"

"The bathroom?" She said as if I was dumb.

"Oh," I said, and got up. I picked up yesterdays clothes off the floor, and sauntered into the bathroom, turning the dial to turn the shower on.

I heard Vee and Patch arguing when I was in the shower, so when I got out I told them to shut the hell up.

I looked around for a towel, only to realise the only one not being used was in the main room. I was naked. Fantastic. I heard Patch laugh as he realised what I was thinking.

_Looking for a towel, Nora?_

I sighed.

_Yes._

I heard him laugh, and Vee ask what he was laughing at.

"Never mind," I heard him say. I heard the handle on the bathroom door turn, then stop.

_May I?_

He was asking to come in. I was naked. I guess I really had no choice.

_I'll shut my eyes._

He came in with his eyes scrunched shut, and reached out with the towel in his hand. I wrapped it around myself straight away, and glared at him. He opened his eyes, and grinned at me. He winked, and walked out.

I dried off and put my clothes back on, and looked in the rusty mirror.

My eye makeup was smudged all down my face even though I'd only applied the bare minimum because Patch prefers me with no makeup.

I turned the faucet on and waited for it to get warm, splashed my face with it and rubbed under my eyes with my finger to try and remove the mascara smudges. It didn't really work, but at least I looked slightly more presentable.

I chucked on yesterdays clothes and attempted to fluff up my hair, then walked out of the bathroom.

"Ready to go?" Patch asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Maybe if you put some clothes on, yeah," Vee said, glaring at his abs. He laughed and shook his hair out, then fluffed it up.

"Go put some clothes on, Patch," I said, walking over to him and putting my hands on his chest. He kissed the top of my head, grabbed the top off the bed and swung it over his head. "Deodorant?" I said.

"Yes ma'am." He said, mock saluting and reaching into his bag to get deodorant. "Ready now?" He said after he'd put some on. I nodded, and he lightly took my hand. I grabbed my stuff with the other hand and walked out of the door behind him, with Vee in tow.

"So, genius, how _are_ we going to get home?" Vee asked Patch.

"Walk." He said bluntly. Vee snorted.

"Fat chance." She replied equally as bluntly. Patch opened his mouth to speak, but I elbowed him before he offended anybody. Vee looked at us weird.

"Ah, it's you again!" The English guy said cheerily, removing his bulky headphones.

"Yeah," Patch began. "It's us,"

"Listen, guy, have you got a phone we can use? We're kind of stranded – genius there maimed his car a few hundred metres back down the road." Vee said, giving Patch an accusatory look.

"Ah yes, in fact I do." He said, reaching under the counter and pulling out an ancient brick cell phone from back when people actually called them 'cellular telephones'.

"Ah." Patch remarked when he took it out.

"It is rather outdated I must admit, but you'll find it works just fine," The English guy said, his smile stretching from ear to ear. Patch dialled a number I didn't recognise, and held the phone to his ear.

"Yeah, hi," He paused, and I heard shouting from down the phone. "Chill out," He said, and stopped again. "Look, I crashed the Jeep. I need a lift, man." More shouting. "Fine, how much?" He nodded as he listened, then looked at me and scratched his head. "Sure thing." He didn't look so sure about whatever was a sure thing. "Thanks." He finished, and ended the call, passing the phone back to the English guy.

"Getting home okay?" He asked, looking between the three of us as he spoke.

"Yeah, thanks." Vee said. Patch seemed quite unresponsive.

"Well, we best be off now, thanks for the stay," I said, waving. I grabbed Patch's arm and dragged him out of the reception door.

"Cheerio!" The English guy said as we left.

Once we got out, I looked up at Patch. He looked distant, thoughtful. He glanced down at me, and smiled vacantly, then looked straight up. I followed his gaze.

A car had pulled into the car park – a ruined, red Porsche with black scratches down both sides and half of a windshield. As the car screamed past us, I stole a glance at the driver and took a sharp breath.

It was Elliot.

* * *

**OH AND another thing, sorry guys, go check out fight-the-fire's stories - and don't even try and accuse her of plagiarism, thanks  
**


	4. Snatch

**credit to AlisonKB for the idea for this chapter :} if anyone's got any more ideas, keep 'em coming guys!**

**PS: I've decided to just give the chapters random names from now on, like in the book Tokyo by Graham Marks. go read it!  
**

**

* * *

  
**

I froze. I could of sworn I heard Patch growl. Vee just looked at us, confused.

"What is he doing here?" I whispered to Patch.

"I don't know, but let's just hope he's not stopping by for a visit."

The car screeched to a halt, and Elliot swung himself out of the window of the driver door.

"Well, Patch Cipriano." He called, looking between the two of us. "Still going strong with my girl, then?"

"I'm not your girl, Elliot." I said, and he laughed. "I don't belong to anyone."

"Not even dear Patch?" He smirked at Patch, who was completely expressionless.

"No. I love him, but I don't belong to him." I hoped my brave face was working.

Elliot walked closer to us, and his face was more visible. He had a grey scar diagonal across his mouth and a swollen black eye, and his hair was greasy and sticking up everywhere.

"You look like you've just been dragged through a hedge," Patch said, still expressionless.

"Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment." Elliot said, smiling sarcastically. Patch returned the smile.

"You can leave now." Patch said, staring Elliot down.

"Actually, I have something to discuss with Nora." He said, looking right at me and ignoring Patch.

"Oh yes?" I said, trying to play it cool.

"Yeah." He moved closer to me, and reached out to take my hand. Patch hit his hand away. "Oh, touchy," Elliot said.

"You could say so." Patch said, expressionless.

_When I nod at you, run. _Patch said to me.

I looked at him, concerned, but nodded my head in agreement.

"Nora, I need to speak to you... _in private._" Elliot said, smiling.

"No." I said. He reached out again, put his hand on my waist and pulled me closer. Patch grabbed his arm and pushed it away from me.

"What are you trying to achieve, Cipriano?"

"This." Patch said, and stepped forward and punched Elliot straight in the face, then ducked as he tried to hit back. You could tell Patch used to be a bare-knuckle boxer, because he was beating the crap out of Elliot.

Patch turned away from Elliot for a second and nodded to me. I grabbed Vee's hand and ran across the parking lot.

"Nora, what the hell is going on?"

"You don't want to know, Vee."

_NORA GREY! _A vaguely familiar, Irish voice said in my head. Rixon. I looked around for him, and spotted a yellow Volkswagen camper parked in a far corner. It was the only other car in here. _I'm in the Volkswagen_.

I ran over to it, flung open the door and jumped into the back, dragging Vee in with me.

"He looks like he's having fun," Rixon remarked about Patch.

"He probably is, he's been wanting to do this for ages," I said, out of breath. Rixon laughed, and tossed me a 3L bottle of flavoured water. "Thanks," I said, and took a massive gulp of it. I passed it back to him, but he declined.

"No thanks, it's no doubt full of all your spit," He laughed, and I took it back and drank some more of it.

"When is he going to stop? Hasn't he noticed that Elliot stands no chance?" Vee said, craning her neck to see out of the window.

"I don't care," I said, putting the lid back on the bottle and setting it on the floor. "So long as it means Elliot fucking leaves us alone,"

"Patch could kill him," Rixon said to a shocked Vee. "But he won't, he knows his limits, don't worry."

We sat in silence and watched Patch throw punch after punch at Elliot until he fell to the floor for about the seventh time and raised his hands. Patch didn't stop. Elliot shouted something. Patch didn't stop. I bit my lip... he wasn't going to stop.

I slid open the door of the van and jumped out, running back across the parking lot.

"Patch! Stop!" Patch didn't look up. "Seriously, Patch, stop it. He's given up." He didn't look up. I put my hand on his shoulder, and tried to drag him back. He turned around, and took a swing at my face, almost breaking my nose. I stumbled back, holding my hands to my nose, dripping blood. His eyes widened, and he stopped beating Elliot up. Rixon came running over.

"Patch," Rixon said in a rough voice, grabbing his arm and shaking him. Patch looked ashamed, and locked eyes with me.

"I'm sorry, Angel," He said, and pulled me into his arms, rocking me back and forth. It seemed like I was comforting him more than he was comforting me.

"It's okay, Patch, c'mon, let's go back to the van. Let's go," I took his hand and walked him over to the van where Vee was waiting. She saw the blood.

"What the fuck did you do?" She asked Patch. He shook his head.

"Don't bother, Vee." I said, and climbed into the back of the van.

"Keep the pressure on it," Rixon said, rooting around for a first aid kit in the back. "Here," He pulled out a bandage, put it in my hands and told me to keep it held to my nose.

"I'm so sorry, Angel," Patch said, still staring at me.

"It's alright, Patch, you don't need to apologise,"

"Yes, I do,"

"No, you don't," I said, smiling and putting my free arm around his waist. He sighed and rested his head on mine, and Rixon climbed into the front seat.

"Right, so, where are we off to?" Rixon turned around in his seat and asked Patch.

"Anywhere. Absolutely anywhere. In fact, let's just drive. Just keep driving." Patch said vaguely. I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Let's go on a road trip," He said, grinning. Vee groaned.

Rixon grinned and turned back to the wheel. "Let's go on a road trip."


	5. Foal

**I'm still taking ideas on where to lead the story next :} keep 'em comin'! like seriously. i need ideas. that's why this chapter is so damn short D:**

* * *

Patch and Rixon were singing along to some random 80's song on the radio and me and Vee sat in the back, groaning. It made me wonder just how old Patch was.

There was nothing to suggest that he was over 17, but seeing as he's not actually human... I'm not so sure.

"You alright, Nora?" Patch said, jumping into the back of the van to sit by me.

"Yeah," I said, smiling at him.

"Sorry, again," He looked down. "I can't express how sorry I actually am, Nora,"

"It's okay Patch, mistakes happen," I shrugged.

"I was just, caught up in the fight, y'know?" He said, looking back up at me. I nodded and smiled. "That's why I told you to run when I told you to. I didn't want you to be around, to get hurt,"

The van suddenly braked, and we all flew forwards. Patch landed on top of me, and a grin spread across his face.

"Pit stop!" Rixon yelled, swinging open the driver door and jumping out. I pushed Patch off me playfully and slid back the door of the van and stepped out. I looked around.

We were in a gas station, surrounded by tall, snow-tipped pine trees that swayed in the breeze. It was really cold to be honest. The gas station was in what looked to be like it was once a quarry, in the middle of a valley. Rixon noticed me looking.

"Pretty, isn't it?" He said, sidling over to me.

"Yeah." I looked at him. "Where are we?"

"Haven't the foggiest. We haven't even passed any road signs." Rixon shook his head.

The thought of road signs made me think of Patch's Jeep all wrapped around a road sign. I laughed out loud. Rixon looked at me weird, and then went to fill up the van.

_Hey, Angel, come look at this._

I walked over to where patch was standing, near the road, and looked where he was pointing. He started laughing.

"You're sick minded, Patch," I said, pushing him away. There was a road kill frog in the street, squashed to a mushy, scaly pulp. Someone had stuck a crucifix to it.

"Come on, kiddas!" Rixon yelled from across the station, and we went and climbed back into the van. He waited until we'd buckled our seatbelts until he spoke again. "So any idea where we're going yet?"

"No idea." Patch said.

"Nope," I chimed in.

"I don't think I should have a say in this!" Vee said quietly, stage whispering.

"Actually," I began, and Patch rolled his eyes at me. "I think we should just head north. North-west maybe? Up into Canada. Do a bit of _exploring._" I grinned. Rixon looked between the three of us.

"Won't your mother be wondering where you are?"

"Ah she's still away. So long as I'm back before the week's out, then we're safe." I smiled.

"Right," Rixon said, starting up the engine. "Canada it is, then."

* * *

**PS: forty-one reviews! i went away for like three days and came back to another like 12 reviews on Pirate Smile so on average that's like, what, 10.45 reviews for each chapter? wow I am a beast at maths... LOL. ideas pl0x?**


	6. Mirrors

.Unique-Mind. - thanks for the idea :D it's here on my Microsoft word that it's coming to life. will take about three chapters, then I'm gonna need some more ideas D:

kholeluvsu - i knowww about the tenses, it annoys me how I do that but I can't help it and I'm never sure what to change them to either :L don't worry though, my tenses are worse in Spanish haha, I would reply by PM but it's not letting me and I don't know why – and thanks for the idea suggestion but Dabria stories are getting all too un-unique now, I need something spicy :D

* * *

"Montreal." Rixon said as we passed a welcoming road sign. I took a swig of the flavoured water.

"So at least we're in Canada now," I said, sighing.

I'd been asleep on Patch for the last hour. I took another swig of the flavoured water, dislodging Patch from my shoulder while I was at it. He shuddered and opened one eye.

"What now?" He asked me groggily.

"We're passing Montreal. Wanna stop for anything?" I asked, as softly as I could – which was proving quite difficult seeing as I had a sore throat from sleeping in the back of a stuffy van with my mouth open.

"No." Patch said, turning over and giving me the cold shoulder.

"Vee, wanna swap?" We were taking it in turns to ride shotgun so that we would all get some sleep.

"Gladly." She said, swinging herself out of the passenger seat and collapsing onto the floor in the back. She fell asleep almost right away. I clambered into the seat and buckled the seatbelt up and sat back against the headrest.

"You doin' okay?" Rixon asked me, poking my arm.

"Yeah, I'm cool." I replied, closing my eyes. There was silence for a few minutes, apart from Patch snoring in the back.

"I have to say, that Vee's a fine piece of work." He said. I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"What?"

"She's pretty." He smiled innocently.

"A bit of an age difference," I said, chewing my bottom lip.

"I know. I'd seem like some sorta paedophile if I went out with her," He sighed. "Oh well. I'll admire from afar." He smiled at me again and revved the engine. We sat in silence again until I felt a presence behind me.

Patch leant forwards between the two seats and kissed me on the cheek. "Morning, sunshine,"

"Patch, ew! Your breath stinks!" I squealed, buffeting him away. He looked hurt. Rixon tossed me a box of mints and I shoved them at Patch.

"Sorry." He said, opening the tin and popping about seven mints into his mouth and then shutting his eyes in agony. "It buuuuuurns!" He said overdramatically, collapsing onto the backseat again.

"You shouldn't have eaten like a hundred of them then," I said.

"Seven, actually." He said, swallowing the rest of them. He sat up and leant between the seats again, kissing me full on the mouth, a hand on my jaw, securing me there.

I pulled away. "Jeez, they really do burn," I laughed, looking him in the eye and lifting my hand up to his face, stroking his cheek. He leant forward and crushed his lips to mine once more before sitting on the backseat and inviting me with a pirate smile.

I looked at Rixon, asking him if it was okay to ditch my shotgun seat and join Patch in the back. He nodded, and I climbed back over the handbrake and sat next to Patch. He looked at me sarcastically and lifted me up into his knee, cradling me to his chest.

"Where do you wanna go?" He asked me. He was obviously talking about whereabouts in Canada, of course.

Of course I wasn't sure.

I wasn't sure whether he was talking about Canada... or something else.

"Um..."

He laughed, a deep, resonant, _beautiful _sound. He lifted my chin up and looked deep into my eyes, like he was looking for something. I looked away, but he slipped an arm under my top and around my waist and I couldn't help but look at his eyes. I didn't expect him to be so close.

"I won," He whispered against my lips. He started slow, kissing my lips, my cheek, my nose, then grinning and moving back to my lips. He crushed his against mine and ran his tongue against my bottom lip, asking me to return it. The moment his tongue collided with mine, I felt an electric shock. He laughed, and carried on. He pulled me up further onto his knee until I was facing him, with my legs either side of his. He moved a hand away and unzipped his jeans and half took them off. He moved his underwear off slightly, sliding it further down his thighs, and started reaching down to unzip my jeans...

When I stopped him.

"Patch, no." I took his hand and held it in both of mine. I rolled off his knees and sat next to him, side on and facing him. "I'm not ready for this," I shook my head. I couldn't make eye contact with him. He sorted his pants out and sat in silence.

"I'm sorry," He said finally, laying a hand on the side of my face and pulling me into a harmless, comfortable hug.

"I should probably move back into shotgun." I said quickly, standing up and climbing into the front as fast as I could.

_I'm glad you stopped me. I wouldn't want to hurt you. _I heard him say in my mind. I didn't say anything back.

We sat in silence, listening to the weather reports on the radio.

"I think I'm gonna head for Manitoba." Rixon said, clicking the handbrake into place while we stopped at traffic lights.

"I see." I said half-heartedly.

"Yeah. Beautiful place. Northern lights, yeah?" He said, nudging me to get me to talk.

"Yeah. Aurora Borealis." I said quietly. He nodded and smiled.

"Do you wanna stop somewhere?" He asked.

"Gas station. I need sustenance."

"There's one a few miles from here. Be there in about five minutes." He said, smiling comfortingly again. I nodded, and stared through the windshield, biting the inside of my mouth.

I thought about Patch for the rest of the journey. I realised how dangerous it is being around him. Not the kind of killing-dangerous, or fighting-dangerous or anything like that... it's a different kind of dangerous. Dangers of him getting too close to me... dangers of stuff happening to me that I don't want. I don't want to be in a relationship like this... I just don't know how to tell him.


	7. Because I Love Him To Bits

**long time no speak :D sorry I haven't been writing anything – my school got closed because of snow on Tuesday so I've been sat at home with my mum watching Pushing Daisies and Doctor Who for the whole week and avoiding my laptop, refusing to go on msn or Facebook or Fanfiction or anything D:**

**massivemassivemassive COLOSSAL thanks to Little Daphamir for helping me out with all the Canadian places and stuff for this chapter :D much love!  
**

**oh now I look back at this, I realise how much effin' LOVELOVELOVELOVE Pushing Daisies. season two came on TV Choice last week! I like, wet myself with excitement, watched it in two days and then found out that they cancelled it after two seasons. ¬¬. sorry, I'm babbling. READ ON! REVIEW! (L)**

**

* * *

  
**

"_One of the most visited sites in the whole of Canada, Niagara Falls is famed for its outstanding Horseshoe Falls, which regularly attract many millions of visitors each year, who travel from all over the world to visit this natural spectacle. Much of the life in the Niagara Falls area is based around the enormous tourism industry and endless shops, museums and attractions line the central streets._"

"Sounds fun."

We had changed our destination once again, and now we were headed for Niagara Falls in Ontario. We were still about an hour away, though, so we had resorted to reading all fourteen leaflets advertising different abseiling, canoeing, bar-crawling – everything to do with, and around, Niagara falls.

"Did you say shops?" Vee asked excitedly but tired at the same time.

"Yes, we did." Patch replied solemnly. I don't think he's over what happened before.

"Can we go shopping? Where's the shopping leaflet?" A tanned arm wavered in the air between the two front seats, asking for a leaflet. I gave her the abseiling one. "Is this a kind of shopping?"

"Yes, yes it is, Vee." I said, grinning.

"Cool, cool." She replied quietly, curling up on the floor to read her leaflet.

I turned in my seat and stared out of the back window. I took my first proper look at Rixon's van.

It looked like the interior of the van had been completely ripped out and Rixon had started from scratch. There was a giant stack of pillows at the back, covered in a thick, Chinese-dragon-patterned blanket with more pillows scattered haphazardly across it. In front of the makeshift bed there were three seats all squashed together with a gap between two of them to climb into the back. There was a massive drawing on the ceiling that looked like it had been drawn by a little kid – it had a picture of the earth and two people holding hands at the bottom of it, surrounded by fields of sunflowers and horses and butterflies... not something I imagine Rixon to draw.

"Who drew your ceiling art?" I asked him, grinning.

"Ah I don't know," He said, glancing behind him. "I won the van off a gang of hippies back at Bo's from a game of blackjack." He winked at me. "Didn't even count cards or nothin'." I nodded absent-mindedly, watching Patch read a leaflet. As if he read my thoughts, he looked up at me. I glanced away before we made eye contact.

I wonder how long it'll be until the subject of our relationship comes up. I really have no idea what to tell him. I don't want to break up with him, God, no, I really don't want to do that, but really, nor do I want to be in such a... _forceful _relationship with someone. I just want to take it slow.

I sound like one of those sex-protection-pregnancy-teenagers-underage adverts. _Do it when you're ready. Don't accept peer pressure._

"Hey, Nora, do you wanna swap? You look like you should get some sleep," I jumped when I heard Patch talk. He was only pretending to care. I bet he just wanted an excuse to bitch about me to Rixon.

"Sure, sure." I nodded and climbed into the back while he got into the front. I poked Vee in the back to wake her up. "Come on, lazy," I poked her again.

"Shit, Nora!" She batted her arms around in an attempt to hit me, but she didn't succeed. I laughed at her and then helped her up onto one of the battered seats.

"Jeez these seats are so uncomfortable," I said after sitting down on the one covered in tweed.

"Hey Rixon!" Vee shouted, poking her head between the front seats and obviously interrupting something. "Get a new car,"

"Do you wanna _walk_ back to Maine?" He looked at her blankly, and she returned the stare.

"Nope."

"Well, you better shut up then," Rixon said, trying not to grin as Vee looked offended and flopped back down onto the seat.

I picked up one of the old leaflets and flicked through.

'_Clifton Hill,_´ I said, reading off the front page in a sarcastic, Texan accent. '_Clifton Hill is just one block to the Falls and the beautiful Queen Victoria Park. When you stay in Niagara Falls be sure to discover all the fun exploring the great attractions and amusements on Clifton Hill._'

'Oh don't bother with that crap, it's a tacky little kiddies Las Vegas,' Patch said from the front, killing the mood.

'Don't be such a fun-sucker, Patch,' Vee muttered angrily.

I nodded in agreement with Vee. 'I say we give it a go. It sounds pretty fun, I mean, it might be tacky and crap but I say we need some tacky and crap after being cooped up in this van for what, like,' I checked the analogue clock on the dashboard. 'Six hours?'

'Yeah,' Rixon laughed. 'It sounds like good fun, Patch. You'll be able to gamble your life away again,' He winked at Patch, who groaned.

'Whatever. I'll stay in the car.' Patch murmured, turning towards the frosted window and staring out at the rolling hills.

'Well, just as well, we were going to leave you here.' Vee muttered under her breath so that he couldn't hear her.

'Attractions...' I scanned the first page. 'A waxwork museum, loads of nightclubs, loads of weirdo museums like that Ripley's one, the upside down one...' I clicked my tongue as I read. 'And loads of casinos, Patch,' I smiled at him, but he didn't turn around.

I leant forwards in my seat so that my face was right next to his.

'Paaaaaatch,' I whispered, my lips brushing his ear. He muttered something incoherent. I repeated myself, and he swung around in his seat to glare at me. Rixon glanced at him apprehensively.

'Calm it there, Patch,' Rixon said, making a stop motion with his hand but keeping his eyes on the road. Patch returned to staring out of the window.

'What have I done?' I asked him, shuffling further out of my seat. He muttered again, and I slumped back, sighing. 'Patch, what?'

'I said-' He began, irritated.

"Well maybe if you were talking at normal volume and normal speed then I'd be able to hear you the first time,' I responded.

His voice softened. 'I said, 'I'm sorry'. I'm just pissy because I've had no sleep.' He turned around and kissed me lightly on the cheek. 'Happy now?' He grinned his irresistible pirate smile.

'Elated.' I grinned, and kissed him back.

'Alright, lovers, we'll be arriving at our destination in,' Rixon imitated a flight attendant. 'Approximately two hours. The local temperature is 42 degrees Fahrenheit, and the weather is sunny with cloud.'

Vee looked up from her magazine she'd found under the seat and produced a cherry-red lipstick.

'Now we just need to make you_ look _the part,' She smiled fiendishly and dived into the front, smothering Rixon's face in the lipstick. He spat some out of his mouth.

'Now you're _seriously _asking to walk back to Maine.'


	8. AN AFTER TWO YEARS

Right, hello. I'm back! I just got an email from FanFic informing me that someone had reviewed my biggest story, Pirate Smile. I haven't been on here for a long time and I know I'll be right at the bottom of the popularity list and whatever but I can't be bothered with the competition that I had to deal with two years ago ;_; but here I am. I'm sorry it's been so long and I'm incredibly pleased and overwhelmed by the fact that people have been reading, reviewing and still favouriting Pirate Smile after two years and I feel awful that I haven't updated, I just got so caught up in my stupid social life and I think now I'm ready to sit back down at my laptop every night and devise a new chapter for you all, as you deserve.

You've been so loyal and dedicated and I really owe it to the ones who followed the fanfic all the way through, so by next week (I have to get my Theatre performance out of the way before I can do any other work – it's tomorrow) there will be a fresh new chapter of Pirate Smile! Thank you for the ideas and inspiration that you gave me in the reviews, I'm taking them all into account x


End file.
